The Fiverr Freelancer Marketplace
Fiverr is an Israeli online freelance services outfit also listed on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) since June 2019 and has offices in New York. In the fiscal year 2019, Fiverr reportedly made $107.1 million in revenue. The online platform that pegs its cheapest services at five dollars opened doors to its online freelancer market place services for the public in 2010.
The freelance platform name Fiverr is a pan on ‘number Five’ and has been coined from the $5 (Five) dollar price tag in their tag line that goes – Get Everything You Need Starting at $5 – since the company’s inception a decade ago.
Today, Fiverr, which has independent users, sets a price range of $ 5-10,000 for its services. Even when commodity prices have changed, with Fiverr‘s pricing model, it means you can find among its myriad of freelancers services for a $5 quotation that is satisfactory!
Fiverr Service as a Product model (Fiverr Gigs)
With the Fiverr service as a product model also known as ‘a gig’ buyers can browse the freelancer platform for skilled people to work on their project in one place. Also, both the buyers and users can understand what is expected of them with the service as a product model for a successful outcome. Often, vague job descriptions and requests are no longer a bottleneck.
There is a wide variety of services offered on Fiverr that are legally approved and whose primary delivery mode would be online. Fiverr services range from web development to writing and other popular categories and are further grouped into around 30 subcategories.
Other new services introduced on the central Fiverr freelance marketplace that one can take advantage of to make your journey more manageable on the platform and accomplish are:
1. Fiverr Business
For a seamless teamwork process, Fiverr introduced its business tool. Under one dashboard, you can find everything you would need to manage your project if you are hiring a freelancer. One can be a buyer/hiring to connect with a success manager from Fiverr to assist in selecting appropriate sellers/freelancers to interview or hire.
You can also collaborate with others in, for instance, interviewing and hiring freelancers. Payment is also integrated and seamless. The Fiverr business dashboard gives an overview of work delivered, milestones, budget and the messages one has back and forth with the freelancers hired.
2. Fiverr Pro
As the name suggests, with Fiverr Pro, the services are premium for the customers. As a buyer, one is sure that they are getting vetted sellers that they can hire with confidence. The sellers in Fiverr Pro are highly skilled and have the proof that comes at a price. As a buyer, the work received will not be amateurish but will meet your expectations.
3. Fiverr Studios
Fiverr Studios, also known as Studio Gig, is a remote place for various sellers with different Fiverr skills to collaborate on a single Gig.
4. Fiverr Logo Maker
Do you need a logo but have no budget to hire a designer, the Fiverr Logo Maker is for you. The AI logo design service will enable you to create your logo for free in no time. However, one must pay to download the completed logo. The amount one chooses to pay to download the designed logo will depend on the branding package chosen!
Fiverr Freelancer Level System
As another way of quality control, Fiverr introduced a way to distinguish between new sellers and seasoned freelancers. This is the level system where factors such a performance, comments ranking, and work quality is used to rank sellers. There are four levels as described below.
1. New Seller
When one creates an account with Fiverr as a seller, your profile is categorized as ‘new seller’. The new seller’s status lets everyone on the Fiverr marketplace know that one is inexperienced on the platform.
2. Level One Seller
This is the next level after the primary status of the new seller. One must have earned at least $400 and a rating from buyers at 4.7 out of a possible 5.0. Besides, one as a seller should have an on-time delivery and response time of 90%. Also, one should be active for 60 days on the Fiverr platform to attain the level one seller status.
3. Level Two Seller
To be a level 2 seller, one earns at least $2000 after being active for 120 days. Besides, one should have delivered not less than 50 on time and highly rated orders for various buyers.
4. Top-Rated Seller
This is the glorious and most coveted top spot for any freelancer on Fiverr. First, you must rake in no less than $20,000 on the Fiverr platform and have high ratings from buyers to be promoted to the top-rated seller status. Besides, one should have been on the platform for 180 days and made no less than 100 orders!
Buying a Service on Fiverr
With Fiverr having thousands of sellers and buyers, the task of zeroing in on a seller that can meet one’s expectations can be daunting. There are two ways to search for the person with the right skills and qualification, and experience for the job you may have.
1. Search
As you scroll through the various pages with sellers, you can see a search box at the top. All one must do is type what you are looking for, just as one would type in google search for a product or service. You can narrow your search using the filters available. You can further fine-tune your search to seller details, budget/price, delivery time and so forth.
For some categories, the search is interactive and intuitive. When using price as a filter, keep in mind that, that might change. The prices that come up are usually for the basic service. One will soon realize that you need to add ons, which will cause the price to increase. The sellers have prices grouped in three tiers/packages, from the cheapest to premium and gold if I borrow the terms.
After entering your search words and scrolling through the pages, you can select the seller that matches your search criteria. What the sellers on Fiverr are offering are usually known as ‘gigs’. Click on a gig. The sellers typically introduce themselves and have work samples.
Some sellers have videos where they also explain themselves and the services. They offer how to contact them and what to expect of them. It is advisable to watch the videos as a buyer/someone looking for a freelance to make sure the gig is precisely what you need.
The sellers on the Fiverr platform have multiple packages to cater for every type of buyer. One can also ask for a customized offer as per one’s needs. You will also notice a place to send a message to a seller if you need any clarification about the services being offered before committing yourself.
Also, some sellers ask one to contact them to see if they are busy or not before making an order so as not to be disappointed if the order takes too long to be delivered or is turned down.
Remember, it does not hurt to read through reviews. They will say something about the seller’s capabilities and character towards their customers. Many negative reviews are not a good indication so choose a seller with caution. Also, read the FAQ section if the seller has one; it might come in handy before you think of messaging them.
As a buyer, you can proceed and click continue after selecting one of the packages you deem fit according to your requirements to move to the order page.
Fill in the blanks and, if needed, add any extra directions for the gig chosen. You could also add an attachment, particularly if the service you need has certain specific requirements. You also have another chance to add any extras that the seller is offering if you think it is necessary.
When you feel you are ready, review the order and make sure the information is correct. Reviewing everything helps spot any missed information that could hamper the quality of work if not availed.
Making the payments is the last stage before your order is activated on Fiverr. Once again, you will be requested to attach or write any specific requirements to the seller regarding the work ordered.
2. Post a Request
The second way to find sellers is to post a request with details of the task you have on Fiverr and let the freelancers/sellers apply. This second method is excellent when you are short on time and urgently need the work done.
All you must do is sign in to the Fiverr account you already created as a buyer. You will then have to navigate and click on the section titled ‘Buying’.
The most important things that you will have to do from the screenshot above to submit and activate an order are First making a description of the job posting /request. Second, match your job posting with an appropriate category.
You will then get to the most critical place, filling in your budget, after which you will set the delivery time. Next, submit the job post and wait for the sellers/freelancers to respond with their offers.
When filling in the budget, consider what other buyers on Fiverr are offering for the same service as you and adjust it accordingly. Also, be prepared to see the sellers coming in with their price proposals, depending on their skill, experience, and rating.
For instance, do not be surprised if a top-rated seller’s price is higher than that of a level one seller. For the same job, the price offer from a top-rated seller. The level one seller may be cheaper and even bid a price slightly lower than your budget price. In contrast, the top-rated seller may even have a higher price tag than what you have budgeted in your job posting.
That said, it does not mean the level one seller cannot do the work; their prices are low to attract more customers. Also, new sellers and level one sellers care more about the reviews and excellent ratings to establish themselves and probably even put in more effort to satisfy them.
When you submit your job post on Fiverr, it undergoes review, but until someone reviews it at Fiverr, you will see the job post status as ‘pending’. When approved, offers from freelancers will start to pour in. You can then go through and shortlist sellers that are a match for your posting.
You can then choose to interview them or use whatever criteria until you get the seller that is a perfect match for the task you posted.
Remember that if you have more offers from sellers or you have found the seller(s) you need you can pause the job request posting. Also, one can delete a job posting if you happen to change your mind or boost the job posting to get more attention on Fiverr.
When zeroing in on the most suitable seller from a multiple of great sellers, some helpful tips are also to look at the ratings and online status and their ranking on Fiverr.
Also, some buyers deliberately among the job posting requirements ask the sellers that respond to give at the beginning a specific name.
Such a directive asking the interested sellers to mention the given name/word at the beginning of their response will help indicate those who read through the application and those who just rushed to respond and perhaps do not know the requirements.
One can then weed out sellers who respond without mentioning the directive and hopefully also reduce the number of applications to read through.
As you sift through the sellers while deliberating on who to chose for your task, you can browse through their Fiverr profiles and gigs to get to know them better and get in touch with them through messaging.
Advantages of Fiverr
- Secure platform with login
- The User Interface is friendly
- Almost a one-stop-shop for all services you may need.
The Fiverr platform user interface is beginner-friendly and easy to use. The platform has different search functions and filters that help narrow down the search volume and keep away irrelevant results. The buyer is also able to get a quick estimate of the services and what they cost.
The buyer can easily choose from the information displayed regarding sellers, such as their ratings, hours clocked, feedback, cancellation ratio and the gigs completed so far.
Fiverr provides a comprehensive menu of services that are well organized and categorized for quick access, from accented voiceovers to social media campaign setups, logo design etc.
Fiverr freelance platform ensures that personal information is protected. Besides, those third parties do not access the data from Fiverr. Freelancers get the considerably basic details that aid in interaction with the buyers on the Fiverr platform
All transactions between the seller and the buyer are done within the Fiverr platform, even through payment gateways like PayPal or using credit cards. By Fiverr handling the payments, one can rest assured that their details are secure.
The Fiverr freelance platform favours buyers more than the sellers. For instance, should a freelancer, for whatever reason, fail to deliver an order, the buyer gets their money back. When purchasing services, should things not work out, you are entitled to a refund and can cancel a gig/order made on Fiverr if the seller does not respond to you within 24 hours!
A secure messaging system is in place within the Fiverr marketplace for the buyers and sellers to communicate and exchange files.
Disadvantages of Fiverr
- Availability of fees
- It is hard to ascertain the quality of work /some risk of substandard work/
- Sifting through sellers to find candidates to interview or hire can be tedious and takes time.
Even though we touched on various services and options as a strength for the Fiverr freelance platform, it can also be a downside. The downside is the time taken to browse through the options, which can be overwhelming.
Also, since anyone can sign up on Fiverr as a seller, even with Fiverr‘s screening, some buyers have doubted how qualified some of the sellers are, especially when their expectations are not met.
Remember, once the service is delivered and you release the funds to the seller, even if a problem arises, especially if it is technical like in web development, the order cannot be cancelled.
In such a case, you must take the bitter pill and accept as a buyer your choice was wanting, and that chances are pretty high that neither will you get a refund.
However urgent your situation may be, take as much time as possible, vet the sellers offering the gig that you need, interviewing them and checking their work samples, ratings, and feedback before choosing whom to make an order from.
The Fiverr freelance platform has administrative fees charged for purchases even though free to set up an account. Currently, in March 2021, the service fees are 5.5% of the total purchase price. If the transaction is under $50, then only an additional cost of $2 is included.
Summary
Our review has looked at the Fiverr freelance platform and specifically ‘what is Fiverr?’ We have established that the Israeli headquartered platform has a base in the USA as well.
The freelancer platform’s price ranges from $5-$10,000 which is perfect for freelancers who want to make money from their skills. With a starting price of $5 Fiverr one of the cheapest platforms to hire sellers and still get great work from logos to WordPress blogs and much more. The platform name Fiverr had been coined from the $5 (Five) dollar price tag on their services during its inception a decade ago.
Other than the general Fiverr marketplace, we have seen that other Fiverr ventures are the Fiverr Business, Fiverr Pro, Fiverr Studios and Fiverr Logo Maker for the interested sellers.
While on Fiverr, the two ways ‘to find a gig that matches your requirements are either using the search box on the platform or making a job posting/request. In the case of a job posting, Fiverr must review it first.
We have extensively looked at the advantages of using Fiverr, which outweigh the disadvantages. One of the significant benefits is that the platform is secure with sign in account to make transactions and has a beginner-friendly user interface, and novices with technology can dive in and begin their search for a seller like a duck takes to water):
We also established some disadvantages, such as the many sellers’ responses, making it tedious to select just one appropriate seller that matches one criterion.
However, it is good to note that Fiverr Pro was introduced, where Fiverr professionals can do the vetting and shortlist of skilled and experienced sellers. All one must do is pick the seller they need or those to further interview before choosing. Fiverr Pro offers other excellent premium customer services as well.
Conclusion
With or without Fiverr Pro, you should as a user spend time going through the seller profiles, checking their ratings, feedback, gig completion rate before settling on a gig. Particularly feedback, you need a seller who responds on time and communicates every step of the way on a given job.
If the gig completion rate is excellent yet the seller sucks when it comes to communication, spare yourself the agony…. You do not want to keep waiting for a response from a seller, particularly when making corrections for any errors… Reviews like ‘the sellers don’t care to communicate and make updates on their progress…’ should be a red flag and vet the sellers as well. You do not want to settle on a seller that will leave you stuck in the traffic lights…
However, remember that the Fiverr Freelancer platform is structured in a way that favours the buyers. If you receive no response from a seller in 24 hours, you can cancel the order and rightfully get their refund.
Also, if the work does not meet your requirements as agreed, one can cancel the gig and get a refund. Fiverr‘s customer service is excellent, and they always respond on time.